Security issues ‘will prevent BYOD from becoming widespread’

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend has been growing in popularity in certain sectors, with managers encouraging employees to use their personal smartphones and laptops at work in order avoid the company having to pay for such devices.

While the practice has its benefits in terms of saving businesses money when it comes to their technology expenditure, one expert believes that BYOD will not become a widespread strategy due to the security risks involved.

"I honestly don’t think that BYOD will become widespread, especially in larger organisations who take security and industrial espionage very seriously," said Dominic Jones, managing director at Barton Technology.

The risk is related to the potential exposure of confidential files and records as employees may not have the necessary security measures in place on their own systems.

As such, the dangers associated with workers bringing their own devices could outweigh the benefits in some instances.

Companies that process important information internally and provide access to the relevant employees will be well aware of the need for adequate data protection methods – and how efficient backup software can help provide a safety net if there are any malfunctions with their network – yet BYOD can pose a threat to this.

The problems associated with the practice appear to reveal that there are numerous limitations to how efficient it could be, and this may explain why it is not expected to be widely adopted by businesses that have to consider the continued security of their systems.

"I think this trend will die down once the novelty has passed. Realistically, the braver or more foolhardy businesses who try to implement it will encounter problems, which will probably put them off," Mr Jones added.

It would seem that any companies who opt to embrace the trend will have a myriad of security risks to consider if they are to maintain the safety of their systems, and this could deter many businesses in the long term.